Clay Frisian
Encyclopedia
Clay Frisian is a dialect
of the West Frisian language
spoken in the northwestern part of the Dutch
province of Friesland
. It has been the primary dialect of written West Frisian since the nineteenth century as a result of its high status. Historically, this region has been the centre of commerce and politics, further contributing to Clay Frisian's primacy. Compared to other West Frisian dialects, there are few if any differences in morphology
or syntax
but there are slight variances in lexicon
.
dialect are the words my ("me"), dy ("you"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we"), and by ("by"), which are pronounced in the Wood Frisian as a mi, di, hi, si, wi, and bi and in Clay Frisian as mij, dij, hij, sij, wij, and bij. Other differences are in the pronouncement of the diphthongs ei, ai, and aai which are pronounced ij, ai, and aai in Wood Frisian, but ôi, òi, and ôi in Clay Frisian. Thus, in Wood Frisian, there is no difference between ei and ij, whereas in Clay Frisian, there is no difference between ei and aai.
Other phonological
differences include:
differences between Clay Frisian and Wood Frisian include:
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of the West Frisian language
West Frisian language
West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
spoken in the northwestern part of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
. It has been the primary dialect of written West Frisian since the nineteenth century as a result of its high status. Historically, this region has been the centre of commerce and politics, further contributing to Clay Frisian's primacy. Compared to other West Frisian dialects, there are few if any differences in morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
or syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
but there are slight variances in lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
.
Phonological differences
The largest difference between Clay Frisian and the eastern Wood FrisianWood Frisian
Wood Frisian is a dialect of the West Frisian language spoken in the eastern part of the Dutch province of Friesland, which is called Wâlden...
dialect are the words my ("me"), dy ("you"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we"), and by ("by"), which are pronounced in the Wood Frisian as a mi, di, hi, si, wi, and bi and in Clay Frisian as mij, dij, hij, sij, wij, and bij. Other differences are in the pronouncement of the diphthongs ei, ai, and aai which are pronounced ij, ai, and aai in Wood Frisian, but ôi, òi, and ôi in Clay Frisian. Thus, in Wood Frisian, there is no difference between ei and ij, whereas in Clay Frisian, there is no difference between ei and aai.
Other phonological
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
differences include:
| English | Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second... |
Wood Frisian | Clay Frisian |
|---|---|---|---|
| thou | jij | dû | do |
| plum | pruim | prûm | prom |
| thumb | duim | tûme | tomme |
| naked | naakt | nêken | neaken |
| crack | kraken | krêkje | kreakje |
| weak (soft) | week | wêk | weak |
| grass | gras | gjers | gers |
| cherry | kers | kjers | kers |
| calf | kalf | kjel | kel |
Lexical differences
Some lexicalLexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
differences between Clay Frisian and Wood Frisian include:
| English | Wood Frisian | Clay Frisian |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | saterdei | sneon |
| ant | mychammel mychhimmel |
eamel eamelder |
| fleece | flij | flues |
| sow (pig) | mot | sûch |